Mountain reels

"Cinema and mountains can be a deadly cocktail", says Ritu Sarin, one of the organisers of Dharamsala International Film Festival (DIFF) and the growing number of people attending the event every year reaffirms Sarin's belief. With the mighty Dhauladhar range playing a warm host, there could not be a better place than the beautiful and serene hill town of Dharamsala to catalyse a new beginning.

CREATIVE OUTLET Sarin, a filmmaker, has been living in Dharamsala long enough to observe the lack of creative outlets and contemporary cultural activities for youngsters in the town. This prompted her to start the film festival. "I wanted to involve young Indians, Tibetans and foreigners living in Dharamsala. Cinema opens new frontiers of the mind and exposure to different cultures leads to introspection," she says. The organisers have also started a fellowship programme. Directors under 30 can send their short films and some will be invited to the festival to watch films, showcase their work, have personal interactions with filmmakers and attend master classes. "We don't have many independent filmmakers emerging from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Through this festival, we want to encourage the youngsters to interpret their world through cinema," says Sarin.REVOLUTION IN THE HILLSThe last edition of the festival saw an attendance of 5,000 people and the organisers are expecting much more this time. Sarin feels it is very important to have film festivals in non-metros. "People here need to engage themselves with a powerful medium like cinema It's a myth that the audiences of small cities are not receptive and engaging," she says.

BEHIND THE GALA EVENTThe non-profit initiative is heralded by a small core team which works round the clock. "We work with interns from around the world and locals. Each passing year, we get more participants, films and viewers increases. And we hope to expand more," says Sarin, who took a three-year sabbatical from filmmaking for this festival.LINED UP FOR YOUThe festival schedule includes 24 fulllength feature films and documentaries that have won accolades at film festivals worldwide. The line-up includes Talal Derki's The Return to Homs (a group of young revolutionaries battling government forces in the besieged city of Homs in western Syria); Jehane Noujaim's The Square (an intimate view of personal stories unfolding against the background of the Egyptian revolution); Pushpa Rawat and Anupama Srinivasan's Nirnay (a piercingly personal enquiry on love and arranged marriage); Tenzin Tsetan Choklay's Bringing Tibet Home (about a Tibetan artist's mission to bring Tibet closer to Tibetan exiles) and Gitanjali Rao's True Love Story (a tale that explores what happens when the ultimate Bollywood fantasy is applied in reality).

THIS YEAR DIFF ISShowcasing 24 full-length feature films and documentaries, and a selection of short animation films, selected from the best of independent cinema. Inviting 12 filmmakers from India and abroad, film critics, and industry and media personnel to attend the festival. Holding master classes and workshops, including a special animation workshop by leading animation filmmaker Gitanjali Rao. Organising a food, arts and crafts fair for the duration of the festival in main venue-the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA). Selecting five young filmmakers from the Indian Himalayan regions for DIFF Film Fellows Programme. They will engage in one-on-one mentoring sessions with established filmmakers.

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